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Topic: The Bachelor party hog trip story.. (Read 2570 times)

So on Saturday I had six eager guys in their late 20s to early 30s call me and ask if I could take them out to kill pigs for a bachelor party. I said, "If you bring the strippers I will bring the dogs and pigs!" They agreed, but that damn stripper must have been hiding the whole night because try as I might I couldn't find her. However as the night progressed I became less and less interested in locating her, and more and more interested in what lay in the darkness beyond our flashlight beams...It was something big... something tough enough to not make a sound when a pit bull clamped down on its ear... something mean enough to fight off a whole pack of dogs, and maybe not afraid to fight off a whole pack of men...Mad River's ex girlfriend you ask!? Maybe, but more likely one of Sticker's not so far removed relatives.

We were already running at half strength in our pack of dogs due to an incident two nights before that had left Ringo (the big Curr dog pack leader) Link (the most experienced catch dog) and Rowdy (another strike dog that is trained to catch after the pits arrive) out of action. A big boar had given them a good beating, and with fresh stitches none of them could go out so soon. That combined with Red getting hammered on last Tue left us without the majority of our best dogs. However, my dog guys came through and were able to locate five other dogs from some of their buddies for us to use with the Bachelor party.

We set out at about 10:30pm with a total of 12 in our party... 6 hunters, myself and three other guides, Alisha the resident dog doctor, and Big Eddie the man with all the land and the owner of the dogs. At some points throughout the night we had all 12 people and 12 dogs in one pickup truck...and as a result we are now a much tighter bunch than we have ever wanted to be. We put the strike dogs on the ground as we drove down a gravel road sandwiched between two big open fields, and in about 30min we saw Rocky take off into the big field on the left. As each successive dog got to the spot where Rock had take off, they put their noses to the ground and quickly followed suit. We knew they were on hot sent so we shut off the truck and listened to the sounds of the night. Pretty soon the unmistakable sounds of hog grunts drifted across the field to the strained ears of our hunting party signaling us into action. The dogs weren't "baying" yet, so we put the catch dogs on leads and crossed the fence into the field. We got to within 75 yards of where the dogs were silently working the pigs, and called a halt to allow our ears to decipher what was going on. I glanced across at my group to make sure that the "Groom to be" was ready with the knife, and I delighted in the facial expressions of shock and excitement that painted their faces. All of a sudden squeals broke out in the group of hogs and they bolted in different directions as the dogs moved in and bayed up a hog.

The next thing that I knew we were following the streaking catch dogs running across the field with excited whoops. The dogs had caught a 150lb sal and just as I was going in to grab her legs she spun around to face me.... It was then that I realized that there were only two dogs holding her...Yikes!! Luckily one of the other guides ended up right behind her and he grabbed her legs and the groom ended the fight. I looked back and saw the rest of the dogs wrestling with an even bigger pig not 25 yards away just across another fence. As the guys took off, I pulled off the catch dogs and sent them to join in. The best man dispatched this pig, and the back slapping and story telling began. Everybody was super excited, it being only 11:30 at this point, and after their first taste they all wanted more.

We cruised all of our local spots, but without another strike.. So we took our party down to a field I had never been to along the river.

It was gorgeous... The peaceful serenity of where we were was just awesome... We were in a 650 acre Costal hay field that was super green and waist high. We pulled the trucks about a 1/4 of the way into the middle of the field on top of what resembled a low 4-5ft tall dike and shut off the trucks. I was standing on top of the cab of our truck just taking in the stars and the feeling that the looming Live Oaks along the border of the field added to the sounds of the frogs from the river that lay beyond. I felt almost like I was in the middle of a green ocean, and I smiled and thanked god that I was alive and standing right there at just that moment, and that I was the kind of guy that was able to take such pleasure in this sort of thing... So many people go through life not knowing what it fells like to be connected to nature, and those of us who do find it hard sometimes to communicate this feeling (or anything at all) to the people who aren't. No matter how much we love them, and try and explain to them just how wonderful if feels, they will never truly understand. But I know that most of you do.... Well.. We hadn't seen or heard the dogs for over 1/2hr and I was starting to get nervous..Then it happened!! The double bark pause..double bark pause of Buddy drifted across the costal to my ears. He was a ways off and by himself, but he had something. I knew that the other 3 dogs that were out in the costal were on their way to help, and the 8 we still had in the truck were chomping at the bit to go. We listened and heard Rocky start to bark with Buddy, but they were moving much to fast the have something bayed up.. they were just trying to stop a pig that was running in front of them..and right at us!! When they got about 50 yards away with out stopping the dog handlers gave the word to turn out the entire pack. They crashed off into the hay and the hunters all jumped out of their truck and started to shine their lights out into the hay field. We heard several dogs yelp and bark, but not one sound of the big Boar they were on was heard. We quickly realized that the hog was coming straight at where we were, and that our clients were out of their truck and were attracting the hog with their lights. It sometimes happens that when you shine your light at a hog it will run straight at you!! Such as now!! From my vantage point on top of the cab I witnessed what looked just like the scene in Jurassic Park 3 where the men all run into the tall grass and from an overhead view you see the Raptors closing in on them. There was a big disturbance moving through the grass right at their truck and several more small disturbances made by the dogs that were trying to desperately bring the hog to bay. My guys were screaming at the hunters to get back into their truck and turn off their lights, and as soon as they realized what was going on they commenced a "Walking on Costal" and moved their butts back into the truck. The hog broke out of the costal and actually ran between the two trucks and over the dike into the other part of the hay on its way to the river bottom. He was one Bad looking Mother!! That hog was probably only 3-350lbs, but his back must have been waist high. He was tall and long legged, with HUGE front shoulders and a skinny a$$.. the kind of agile monster that can turn on a dime and take out a dog (or a hunter) and has the stamina and strength to wreak havoc on even the best pack of dogs. Speaking of which, there were 12 on his tail as he made his way out of the field.

All we could do was stay put and listen and hope that they could bring him to bay. We didn't hear a sound from any of the dogs or the hog and we began to fear for the worst about our buddies. We walked around nervously and let out an occasional whistle to let the dogs know where we were, and finally 45min later they began to come back in. In twos and threes they straggled back in until we had the whole pack, and amazingly enough.. not one dog was hurt. What we surmise is that this was the notorious boar that has broken off teeth and is unable to cut the dogs, but has grown wise about being chased by dogs and knows how to lead them into the water and drowned them after they get tired. We got lucky that he didn't get any of our dogs, but unlucky that we didn't have Ringo, Buddy, Link and Rowdy with us. Those dogs have yet to be beaten, and had they caught that hog we would have been the heroes of the hog dog world and this story might have had an even more exciting conclusion!!! As it was everyone had a great time and we called it a night since the dogs were tired from chasing that big Bas***d...To a man, my hunters said that they would be back....And I believe them.

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"Men don't change. The only thing that surprises a man in his life, is the history he doesn't know." Harry Truman

dang keep ritin story's like that i might have to come down there and hunt with you

thats what i was thinking ( AB ) you can tell one da# good story i was sad that it was so short and you know what your talking about the hog's will lead dog's into the swamp's and the next thing you know it's day-light and you find your dog floating in the water, hog's ante that smart till they have been hunted a few times and get a little age on them then it's a hole new story then. where are you in Texas

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they say i'm not that smart for a redneck ( old dixie land old dixie land how i love my dixie land )

AB JointOutfitters, great story. It is a shame you couldn't bring down my 350 Pound, Toothless, Ex-Girlfriend, with the Broad Shoulders and the Tiny Rump. I really miss that pack mule of a woman. You know what they say about them big girls, they are fun to ride, until a friend sees you on one. Whatever the case, I am just glad she is out of my neck of the woods and down in yours. If you really want to get a shot at her, bait her in with a plate of hot wings, a box of Krispy Kremes, and a Chocolate Shake.

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I have long know that it is part of God's plan for me to spend a little time with each of the most stupid people on earth.